To Life Being Full (Book Three of The Unmatched Records)

Arrow ~ Divided ~ Part One

And it's back to, as Oliver put it, normalcy. Except this normalcy involves a needle-like hacker in a city-sized haystack.

Enjoy the first part of "Divided!"

***

Cayden watched the last man exit his target's office, then strode forward. Behind him, Diaz and Evelyn exchanged glances before following.

When they entered the office, the man reclining at his desk scowled at them. "Who the hell are you?"

"Someone," Cayden answered, tilting his head from side to side. "Important."

"Real important," Diaz smirked, leaning against the wall.

"You don't look it," the man scoffed. "How'd you get past my men?"

"They thought they saw a bigger threat," Evelyn answered sweetly.

The man raised an eyebrow, looking her over before dismissing her and looking back at Cayden when he spoke. "Jerry Bertinelli of the eponymous crime family and the last of his kind. The rest of your family is either dead or incarcerated."

"You writing a book?" Bertinelli snorted.

"I have heard that sometimes ships appear on your docking manifest but never actually arrive," Cayden continued.

"Sometimes, ships arrive and never end up on the docking manifest," Diaz added.

"That's very profound," Bertinelli smirked. "If the price is right, maybe – maybe – we can facilitate a few things."

"No, I'm afraid you misunderstand," Cayden shook his head. 'We want to buy you out."

"I got a feeling you're not hearing me," Bertinelli snarled, standing up. "Port's not for sale. Take a walk."

Diaz suddenly stood up, reaching under his coat. Bertinelli responded, drawing a gun quickly, but in the process, turned his back on Evelyn. The girl launched a dark grey dart at his neck, and Bertinelli yelped, dropping his gun and clapping a hand on top of his neck, sinking the dart in deeper. He groaned in pain, and Evelyn sauntered forward, placing her hands flat on the desk and leaning in close. "I guess you thought you saw a bigger threat, too," she smiled, watching his eyes cloud over as the sedative sunk in.

"You have forty-eight hours to consider our proposal," Cayden informed him. He turned to leave, then paused and looked back. "Don't you have a daughter attending Columbia University?"

"I've always wanted to visit New York," Evelyn beamed.

Cayden headed out the door first, and Diaz held out his hand, gesturing Evelyn out first. Evelyn nodded back, and Diaz spared Bertinelli one last look before bringing up the rear.

***

"Well, if nothing else, we've set the new record for most arrows made in a day."

Oliver couldn't help but snort in amusement as he double checked the arrow he'd just made. "Pretty sure that's a single person record to make, Malcolm."

"Well, one of us has to have beaten that," Malcolm smirked, carefully checking the tip of one of his arrows. He winced when he pricked his finger, setting it down again. "Which one of us, though, that's the question."

"I'm not counting," Felicity called drowsily from where she was sitting down and leaning against one of the columns in the base.

The elevator doors dinged open, making all three look over. Laurel was the first out, and she took one look at Felicity and giggled. "Long night?"